I found this online gear shop based in Spain called trekkinn.com). I was wondering if anyone has bought gear from them before and what your experience with them was. I'd also like to know if there was any difficulty in getting it though customs (I've heard that they don't think of climbing gear as sports equipment).
Any other feedback about buying gear online from overseas will also be appreciated

Some friends and I have bought a lot from this site, shoes harnesses, quick draws and cams all arrived in perfect condition with very low import costs. All products are the proper stuff. It's is a bit of a ball ache as they sometimes don't have stock.and you have to wait. But on average it takes a month to arrive, and is fully traceable along the journey.....just don't rely on the post office to notify you that it has arrived. Check yourself, have never recieved a arrival notice from them....happy shopping

Hey all, just as a follow up. I ordered some items from Trekkinn end of July.
An OR foray GTX jacket
Mammut tech top
Sea to summit gaitors

Everything totalling to R3000 (shipping was R176)

So they we're very helpful, kept in contact with me and the parcel very quickly made it's way to Joburg where it was scanned on 16Aug.

That's where the joy stopped.
For the next almost 3 months I couldn't get ANY info out of the post office. Phoned them pretty much every day (most of the time no one answers the phone)

Friday (6 Oct) I finally spoke to someone who were willing to look for it at Cape Mail Hub. Her name is Odette.
So she found the package and I'm going to go collect it today (hopefully)

The customs duty on top of that is R1936!! Which is 64% of the purchase price! Wow. We just keep on winning in SA.
So in the end it doesn't work out cheaper... at least it's still in line with what similar stuff costs here... but you have more choice... I guess.

Anyways. Just thought i'd put it out there. Keep all of those factors in mind when considering online purchases...

You paid so much because you ordered clothing. There is a 30% duty on any clothing to protect the south african textile industry. So if your invoice was for R100, then you had to pay vat on that (14%) + the clothing duty (30%) + a customs clearing fee (Leaving this one out, but probably around R30 regardless of the value of the goods purchased) + Shipping (depends on size and weight).

So, your R100 order is now R100+R14+R30 = R144 (x Clearing fee and shipping). If you just ordered hardware or electronics it would be closer to R114. Customs are stupid-slow in this country with throughput times.

So bottom line: You end up paying around 76% of your purchase price!! I was lucky since the gaitors went through as accessories (so I scored some on them) but it would have been even more if they ruled it as clothing

Clothing is 40% import duty, then VAT on top of that total.
So original price advertised overseas is say, R100.
Then you pay 40% on top, totalling R100*1.4 = R140.
Then VAT (and handling) is added (VAT at 14% and handling is about 1%).
So we take the R140*1.15 = R161.
So moral of the story...You will pay about 61% higher on clothing items...or as a safe bet, anything that resembles clothing.
Many a peep in the MTB world has been caught out this way without doing their proper research beforehand.

Sometimes it works out when you get a really good sale overseas, not your typical South African 10 to 20% off sale.

I realise this is an old thread, but there have been contributions over time, so I'll pile on.

Have ordered from Trekkinn.com twice in 2017 and have been very happy with my purchases. Enough so that I have two pending orders currently residing at JHB customs and due to arrive at some point in the next 30-45 days depending on whether someone feels like doing their job or not

If you shop the sales and are aware of import duties and what gets taxed higher you can pick up some very good deals. Just don't expect to get it in 2 weeks and don't forget about import duties when doing your "bigger picture" calculations.

Sometimes we get screwed supporting local, sometimes we screw ourselves in not doing so. Be an educated buyer and hopefully both will happen less.

Also posting on to an older thread but a useful one , but found a hiking baby carrier on Trekkinn which is a decent price. When wanting to purchase on the Trekkinn site there does not seem to be an option to create an account?
Can you help?
I tried their online chat feature but there was nobody online at the time

On the 29th of May I ordered and paid for a an ice ace and a few pitons.

After more than three weeks of trying to track my parcel via them, they have informed me that my parcel might being processed by the customs in South Africa and this is generating delay. If so, they can’t guarantee when my order will be released as this is due to Customs rules and procedures applied in your country. Based on their experience, customs can take between 15-60 days to unblock my parcel and proceed with delivery.

I then contacted the post office and they have informed that my order is still on its way and not yet in South Africa.